Posted By John Webster Uday The person you are writing about is, by your own accounts, a good worker and even a pleasure to work with. They are a person, and not, as you go on to describe "a time bomb ready to explode". You are probably correct in that most seriously overweight people have underlying, and usually untreated, psychological problems but then so do a significant proportion of the working population one way or another. But where on earth do you get your assertion "Overweight combine with obesity together represent a serious SHE safety issue that can inflict substantial harm or injury to a workers health at the place of work". In all cases you will assess your workers' fitness for a particular task or post, whether they be tall, short, thin, fat, strong, puny, male, female, young, old, pregnant, disabled or whatever. Or are you only going to allow people of "average" height and "average" build to work, and then only after passing a full physical and mental medical? Even the super fit have been known to drop dead with heart failure, and those seriously UNDERweight can suffer the same fate. Why might you want to carry this person down from the 3rd floor anyway? In a fire your employee is probably as capable of self-evacuation as anybody else. May be a tad slower but so what. In the case of a medical emergency it will be the ambulance service who comes and gets them and takes them down in the lift (if you have one) and who are trained how to handle bariatric patients. Provided that you ensure that all this person's work equipment is suitable for this person's stature - eg weight rating of chair and range of adjustment etc. and that you are not asking them to do anything which, by virtue of their size makes it more difficult or more dangerous ( I, for example stopped travelling out to oil rigs when it was felt that I might have difficulty in negotiating the small escape hatch in the rear of some helicopters) then what is the problem?

Posted By MarkJAWatkins Oh my word! As a nation we tend to look at our neighbouring countries or allied countries and think "hey, that's a good idea" I am talking about "no win, no fee" law firms that have crippled the American industry. People in America are scared to administer first aid to someone in the street in fear of getting sued and the same is happening in the UK. We have all seen the TV adverts. Any form of action by an employer against an employee because of any personnal issue....I couldn't begin to calculate the settlement payment. Unless the person is showing extreme obesity and prevents them from executing their job in a professional mannaer i.e, they are a pilot and have trouble moving about cockpit, or fire-person unable to rescue anybody the employer does not have much of a case. At best, you could aim for redundancy on medical grounds but they would have to agree on this and teh payment would have to be great! not to mention there would have to be actual medical grounds. I had a recent health screening for my job. I was told that my BMI was high and I was carrying extra weight but I am 6ft 3' so it doesn't have such an impact on my performance. Also, as I jog a few times a week and still can't shift the excess weight (I am rugby player size) they have a problem identifying the exact circumstances taht cause my weight gain. Am I to have my employment terminated becasue of this...I think not! And I hope the person who tries to victimise me becasue of this has a hell of a good legal team behind them casue they will really need it. Question, was this person overweight before starting with your company or have you made them this way? this could really open up a can of worms and you could find your company being sued instead. Tread very, very carefully on this. Regards, Mark

Posted By Glyn Atkinson You need to show a caring consideration to ANY employee who may not drop into the "norm" that is considered to be Mr or Ms Average. To offend this person would, as most of the replies above correctly state, bring on some form of discriminatory kick back against your firm or indeed yourself. However, and I say this in the most honest good faith, has your assessment of any situation or work place activity found that this person could be at risk of endangering themself or others by their actions? Only by this process could you possibly hope to prove that your thought process is purely on safety assessment grounds for concern, not against ANY individual. Quantify and prove any worse case scenarios from both ends of the human spectrum for every study that you make. Do not show favour to any particular group of personnel - make the studies open minded and fair across the board. Do you have a health review policy for ALL staff in your workplace? just a few thoughts on fair methods to appraise sensitive issues without offending key and well liked personnel. I would be interested if others share any of my views?

Posted By gham "I realize that this might be a sensitive subject, so please NO making any offensive comment to anyone" When did you realise? I fail to understand what the point of this thread is. The individual is apparently mobile enough to get to and from work so why would they not be able to evacuate the building in the event of an emergency. And why would this person falling I'll be any different to another member of staff falling I'll in the work place, manual handling issues are the same.

Posted By HOWARD SHELDON I think you are all missing the point , obviously Uday has serious concerns that this persons excessive weight is obviously a major risk to the structural stability of the building , or perhaps this persons weight exceeds the weight bearing capacity of the lift or stairs . Undoubtably he has done a risk assessment and identified that this person represents a serious risk to others possibly even resulting in incidents likely to cause multiple fatalities .I recommend that he contacts the enforcement agency for his business and request them to serve an immediate prohibition notice on this person , then he won`t have to worry about all those nasty legal obligations that he is so worried about .

Posted By gham hilarious.... a bit of pee came out

Posted By JEFFREY SMITH Ooh, very careful here. Like the previous poster I am exceedingly overweight at 18 stone and 6ft 2in but am still able to cycle for twenty miles or more, am a Karate black belt, walking up and running down stairs is no problem etc. Unless there is a valid medical reason this person should not be in the job, you are looking at being sued. For instance, what is the difference between this person and one in a wheelchair? what about if this person had just broken a leg? Good luck in whichever route you take.

Posted By erina I would have a private moment with the person and discuss the options and ask him/her what safety measures he/she thinks (that is not already in use at this particular workplace)we could be implent to ensure the best evacuation route if in any danger situation. Come on Surely an overweight person thinks of these thing every single day...you feel selfconscious about the fact that you are moving slower sometimes,taking up bigger seats etc.Most of the time this person have the answer to your question because it concerns them. You try and work out how you would not be a problem for the rest and how you would carry yourself in an danger situation....Overweight people are fat but not stupid...Be open and discuss the situation and ask them how they feel...you'd for sure get an indication and suggestion to the problem..and by the way two pair of heads are better than one....that's why health and safety reps. and meetings are suppose to be there....to solve not create..good luck keep the channels open.

Posted By MarkJAWatkins How obese are we talking here? Will it exceed manual handlings of 4 people using a stretcher? There must be a rescue appliance in the industry used for larger than average people? Does the company occupy the ground floor of the offices? can the person get an office on the ground floor at their REQUEST? The most important issue here is being overlooked. It is not a H&S issue it is a moral issue. Speaking to someone about their excessive weight, size, etc. and how we can "over-come" issues that don't really exist can be perceived as bullying. The mental anguish and humiliation this person would feel as a result of such a conversation is mind-boggling! It is certain to become office gossip and possibly force this perfectly able and good worker out of their much loved and lets not forget much needed job. I applaud you for trying to address any possible situation that may arise but as previous comments state, "would this thread be active if the person was in a wheel chair"...I think not. Regards, Mark

Posted By Paul Devlin I tend to agree with Sean I think you've all jumped on to the initial posters hook. I see he hasnt responded or defended his posting at all. If he was genuine I think he would have dont you??? Just a point on the BMI issue it is not recognised by a lot of institutions these days even the NHS will tell you "its all we've got". I'm 5 10 and 13.5 stone, extremely fit, gym 3 times a week and according to health assessment last week using BMI i'm 2 points away from being obese?? It doesnt take into account your muscle mass or physique. As for the generalisation on overweight people having underlying problems, shame on you I say. Is weight and size our next "stigma" now we've almost sorted the smokers out?

Posted By Uday Hi Guys, Thanks for all your individual views and personal opinion which is appreciated.The discussion forums as I thought are intended for professional discussion and debate on a variety of issues relating to health and safety in the workplace,hence the posting. The suggestion rec'd from Mark "getting an office on the ground floor is cool,noted and taken on board.Thanks Mark and all for their contribution.